From Book to Screen: Q&A with the team behind Paramount+ romantic comedy, The Flatshare

Based on the bestselling book by Beth O’Leary and produced by 42, The Flatshare follows two cash-strapped twentysomethings – Tiffany (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Leon (Anthony Welsh) – who share a bed. The catch is – Tiffany and Leon have never met and, if their plan works out, they never will. Newly dumped by her controlling ex, Tiffany spends her days earning minimum wage for minimum appreciation on a viral news website, while Leon works nightshifts in a hospice getting life advice from a terminally ill teen as he tries to free his wrongfully jailed brother. But, as the Post-its start to fly and each gets unexpectedly drawn into the other’s messy, complex life, an attraction evolves backwards. The question is – can you really fall in love with a person you’ve never set eyes on?  

Join WFTV for a conversation with some of the team behind the new Paramount+ rom-com: actor Jessica Brown Findlay, lead writer Rose Lewenstein, and executive producer Miriam Brent. They will be discussing bringing the book to screen, offering insight into the process of adapting the novel, the relevance of the story for audiences today and experiences filming on location in Bristol, London and Brighton.

WFTV members who register before Tuesday 25 October at 11:30am, will have the opportunity to receive a screening link.

Event Schedule:

17:55: Please join the webinar waiting room

18:00: Panel talk

18:45: Audience Q&A

19:00: Finish

Jessica Brown Findlay is an accomplished actor who was selected as a Screen International Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2010. Over the past decade, Jessica has starred in a wide range of productions both in the UK and US including Life after Life, Brave New World and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Jessica also will be seen in The Hanging Sun. The film, which premiered at Venice Film Festival this year, is directed by Francesco Carrozzini and is based on the novel by Jo NesbØ. Jessica plays the female lead opposite Alessandro Borghi. The film also stars Charles Dance and Peter Mullan.

Rose Lewenstein is a writer and is developing a number of TV projects, including original drama Self (Kudos) and an adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s The Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins (Buccaneer). Last year she wrote on J Blakeson’s Culprits, which Character 7 is producing for Disney. Her single drama That Girl was part of BlackLight’s On the Edge anthology series for Channel 4. For film, she is writing an original screenplay The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits with producer Sarah Brocklehurst and support from BFI’s Vision Award. Theatre credits include Cougar (Orange Tree), Now This is Not the End (Arcola) and Ain’t No Law Against Fish ‘n’ Chips (Royal Court Young Writers Festival). Rose also writes songs and performs with cult comedy cabaret act Sex Shells.

Miriam Brent is an Executive Producer at the management and production company 42. She has been with the company since 2016 and, as well as executive producing the upcoming Paramount+ show The Flatshare, her credits include the BBC1 and HBO thriller The Girl Before, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo, and the Julian Fellowes drama The English Game for Netflix. In film, she co-produced Military Wives, directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan. Miriam has also worked at Raw, where she developed the BIFA-winning feature American Animals, written and directed by Bart Layton. Prior to her career in TV and film, Miriam was a journalist for the Guardian.

How will the online event work?

This event will be live streamed via Zoom.us. Viewing details will be sent via your confirmation.

Attending participants will not be visible to others and will be muted throughout the session. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask questions by using the Q&A feature.

This event is for existing WFTV members only.

If you are not a member and would like to join, membership costs just £100 + VAT/yr , please click here or email admin@wftv.org.uk

At WFTV we’re really keen to ensure that all our events are accessible for everyone. So if you have any particular access needs, please can you let us know before an event and we will do our best to accommodate you. We would be grateful if you can give us as much notice as possible – please contact admin@wftv.org.uk